Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout

Brewery: Odell Brewing Co.

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Thought I would do a special on for Christmas :) This has a lovely story attached to it as it is named after  the dairy farmer that uses the spent grain and hops from the brewery for feeding the cattle. This brew is made with milk sugar and milk chocolate. The bottle shows an expiry date as the 3rd of May 2013..... they bottle it 4 months before (so 3rd of January) thus it is nearly a year old.  I served this at cellar temperature.

Appearance: Completely black with a thick but short lived mocha/maroon head.

Aroma: Smells like a mix of whisky, port, and black olives.

Flavour: a bit of an acidic sweetness right off the front with some sweet malty notes mixed in with a bit of savory towards the end. The sweetness isn't a malty sweetness and probably comes from the lactose; it is a little too sweet. Some roasted burnt toast notes do develop with drinking. The flavours seem to change quickly.

Body: Lovely silky body but a little too fizzy for the style.

Aftertaste: The sweetness spreads through. After some time there is some green taste from hops. Some brandy/whisky notes develop with time.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, a nice beer with a unusual flavour that I can't place that doesn't quite work. Not any chocolate coming through though. The flavours were unlocked with the warmth so definitely serve it at room temp. A bit too sweet to be any higher.

Price Range: £4.59 for 355ml bottle, way too much for a bottle.

Food Pairings: I can't think what this would go with as it is quite sweet and robust by itself, I would say that it would complement a desert that is creamy with berry fruit; such as Eaton Mess or Cranachan.

First Frontier IPA

Brewery: To Øl

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is an "IPA done the American way" by a Danish brewery using three American hops (warrior, simcoe, and centennial). I served this straight from the fridge.

Appearance: An opaque dirty gold colour with an off-white head that thins but stays.

Aroma: That lovely lychee lemon hop smell dominates this smell, nothing else.

Flavour: Quite sharp on the tongue initially and then develops into that classic citrus hoppy taste with a little hoppy sourness before a strong but not unpleasant hoppy bitterness.

Body: A little light and a little fizzy but not bad.

Aftertaste: A little too much bitterness that it tastes green, like a plant. 

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 6, a simple beer that displays a clear hoppy profile but nothing else, close to a 7 but the aftertaste is a bit to unpleasant.

Price Range: £3.69 for a 330ml bottle, a nice beer but this is too much for a bottle of this, I think it is carried by the breweries name (for me at least).

Food Pairings: Something gamey like roast pigeon, the floral hops would balance the gameyness of the bird.

Smoked Rye IPA

Brewery: Bierbrouwerij Emelisse

Supplier: Beers of Europe

Thought I would have this as a little celebration for finishing my exams! This if from a well known Dutch brewery and is part of their "Innovation Series". This is an IPA brewed with 20% rye and 10% smoked malts. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: A very murky amber colour with no head. Pours incredibly thick, so much so that it has notable legs.

Aroma: Hugh waves of peach hit you when you pour this but as you smell closer you get a mixture of spices and BBQing herbs.

Flavour: Initially tastes just like honey (later going into a more fruity syrup), this goes into a woody smoke and Barbecue sauce finish, turns into a kind of hickory smoke. There are also hints of fruity hops towards the end.

Body: Nice and thick, a good substantial body whilst still being fresh.

Aftertaste: The smoke lingers and there is that classic hoppy bitterness.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, lots of single bold flavours that really stand out from one another, usually I find smoked beers not smoke enough but this is! (maybe a little too much). But is probably THE perfect BBQ beer and very close to being a 9.

Price Range: £2.89 for a 330ml bottle, definitely worth it!

Food Pairings: Brisket and Spicy chicken wings. It goes well with meats due to its smokiness, I don't know what vegetables go well with smokiness.

Framboise Boon

Brewery: Brouwerij Boon

Supplier: Beers of Europe

This is the Boon Breweries lambic made with raspberries. First made in 1976, with this one being made in 2012, it is made to display the Raspberries and uses not artificial flavourings. The recommend to drink this young even though it says it is best before the end of 2016. I served this slightly chilled

Appearance: Cherry red with a faint and very sort lasting pink head, when you hold it to the light it becomes ruby in colour.

Aroma: Predominantly raspberries (surprise surprise) with hints of other berry juices, maybe cherry.

Flavour: Quite tart on the front, like nearly ripe raspberries and this persists (berry taste maturing slightly) though until a little bit of a weak finish. Quite crisp and tart.

Body: Nice and light, but with enough body to support it.

Aftertaste: It has a nice clean finish with only a slight puckering in the aftertaste. It is just like after eating a nearly ripe raspberry. Later a nice sourness develops

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 7, very close to an 8, this just screams raspberries and is a great refreshing beer, perfect for the summers.

Price Range: £2.09 for a 250ml bottle, a good price despite the small bottle size; the 250ml bottle size is actually the perfect amount. I would definitely get this again as a standard summer drinker.

Food Pairings: It will go well with pretty much anything that raspberries go with; I'm picturing with a nice sharp cheddar and some water crackers at a picnic.